Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) revealed on Monday she will plant a new institute at the University of California, Berkeley after she leaves Congress, as she seeks to enshrine her legacy in a move the longtime lawmaker described as designed to train the next generation of leaders to protect democracy.
After spending nearly four decades in Congress and twice leading Democrats as House speaker, Pelosi is moving to academia, launching the “non-partisan” Nancy Pelosi Institute for Representative Democracy in her home state after she retires in January, 2027. There, she plans to co-teach a course on Congress in Berkeley’s political science department, serving around 500 students annually, hosting fellows, and funding research on democracy.
“I concede this as a departure from the partisan political arena,” Pelosi told the Los Angeles Times. “I think the value of being associated with an academic institution, instead of just having my own foundation to do things, is that it would be nonpartisan. I think there’s so much strength in that.”
The congresswoman outlined a series of policies, including progressive priorities, that the institute will examine in a CNN interview during which she lauded the program as one in which she will use her “experience to train leaders for the future.”
“I loved it because they talked about human rights in the U.S. and in the world, talking about and addressing the challenges to our democracy, talking about challenges of the climate and economic income inequity,” she said, remembering when Berkeley administrators and professors pitched her the idea nearly a year ago.
During the Los Angeles Times interview, Pelosi unleashed veiled attacks against President Donald Trump, framing him as someone who has been instrumental in eroding the pillars of democracy. She was cautious about whether members of his Cabinet might be invited to speak as fellows at her new institute, but said, “You never know.”
”The separation of powers is the beauty, exquisite beauty of the Constitution. Of course, that’s in disarray right now,” she said, referencing Trump as a “tyrant, a monarch, a demagogue.”
Pelosi said the institute will train advocates, organizers, and public servants of all stripes, and discuss “what we should be talking about as we go forward” in politics.
NANCY PELOSI SAYS SHE WILL STILL HAVE POLITICAL ‘INFLUENCE’ AFTER RETIRING
“Anything we do in Congress has inside maneuvering, but without the outside mobilization, we’ve never been able to pass it or save it,” she said. “I look forward to seeing the incredible ideas and leaders that will emerge from this institute.”
The institute in Pelosi’s home state has a $50 million price tag. Thirty-five million has been raised thus far, including $25 million, Pelosi said she fundraised.